Red Leaves and Polaroids
by Khaleesi Khupcakes
Summary: Oh look, another Modern AU. I don't really know how to describe it, but Sansa and Dany are working at a salon, even though that's not the main focus of the story, just read and review! Will have multiple chapters.
1. Sansa I

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Outside the window of the one-room apartment Sansa shared with three of her friends, her half-brother and her sister, the early autumn wind seemed to scream as if it wanted in. The apartment was literally a single room, with something off to the side that served as a fairly decent excuse for a bathroom. The living room served as a bedroom, with three mattresses and a couch. Sansa slept on one with her sister Arya and her friend Daenerys Targaryen, whom everyone just referred to as Dany, on another was Jon, her half-brother and Theon Greyjoy. Theon's sister Asha slept on the couch. The room was dark and cold, lit only by the light of the city of Toronto outside.

Sansa was the only one awake.

She could never get her brain to shut up in these situations. She had tried complaining about it to Dany, who rebuked her and once again used her acute schizophrenia as an excuse to make her the only one allowed to complain.

Arya was 13. Sansa had tried sending her away to relatives around the city but Arya wanted to stay with her. After their parents and brother had both been killed and their younger brothers Rickon and Bran sent to live with family in the suburbs, taking the five family dogs with them. Probably best for the dogs. Jon's dog lived in the apartment and ate human food, it was an albino husky and possibly the most horrifyingly creepy thing Sansa had ever seen.

Arya moved closer to Dany under the Ikea sheets. Luckily, the five of them made good money and Arya had been hired at the library, she'd lied about her age. Sansa was almost thankful the bunch of them could pass as hipsters and not be perceived as five depressed college dropouts and an 8th grader.

* * *

Sansa must have fallen asleep, because she opened her eyes to sunlight streaming in the window and an empty mattress. Dany and Asha were standing at the kitchen counter, Theon and Jon were gone, at work, and from what Sansa could hear, Arya was in the shower performing an off-key rendition of 'Applause'.

Dany was already in her work uniform, Asha was looking pissed and caffeinated as usual. Sansa got up,

"You need to hurry up, Irri called and she was steaming like hot puke on a plate of ice." Asha snapped, "God, why the fuck would you want to be a hair stylist? That woman is a Grade A Bitch."

"Because I need to make money and I don't any degrees." Sansa countered, ganking a leftover croissant out of the fridge, "Besides, Dany got me the job."

Arya tramped out of the bathroom, soaking wet and wrapped in a cow print towel,

"Can I come to work today? Pleeeease." she begged, "I don't wanna stay here all day and all my friends are away for Thanksgiving."

Dany rolled her eyes, "You'd hate it there, Arya, it's all girly, you know what I do, right? You know what my job is?"

"You're a cosmetologist. BUT I'M REALLY BORED, COME ON!"

"Irri's already mad at me." Sansa interject, "I can't provoke her."

"Ah, fine." Dany whined, "Irri loves me."

"Didn't you fuck her once?"

"Yes." said Dany nonchalantly, "And she started crying halfway through and called her boyfriend."

...

Queens Park was all orange and red, it was only the 12th of October yet everything seemed ready for November. Arya started snapping pictures of trees with the camera their mother had bought her two years earlier, Arya considered herself a professional photographer for some reason. Sansa grabbed her wrist and wrenched her along, Dany, who was walking ahead, paused in front of a wooden park bench, when they caught up with her they saw what she was reading.

_In memory  
__Drogo Khatchadourian 1985-2013  
__and Rhaego Khatchadourian April-July 2013  
__our world was so dark after your sunset_

"Dany?" Sansa whispered.

"I know she's out there somewhere." Dany murmured dangerously, her fingernails gouging crescent moons into the palms of her hands, "When I find her, she'll die screaming..." Dany stalked off faster than she had been going before, Arya ran after her.

Khaleesi Beauty was located a few blocks away from the park, as Sansa approached the light pink brick building she noticed with a feeling of foreboding that a light blue convertible and a Beetle Bug were parked outside. She didn't want to put up with Jhiqui and Shae today.

Shae was nice enough, but her accent was enough to make Sansa want to rip out her hair. Irri and Jhiqui were sisters, friends of Dany and the Khatchadourian family, but Sansa despised them and they despised her. If it wasn't for Dany, she would been fired a long time ago for attempted murder. The owner of the salon, Doreah, was a former prostitute, model and one of Dany's ex-lovers, tall, tan and blonde and always the envy of every girl and woman who came into the salon. Then there was Missandei the receptionist who always seemed to kind of materialize quietly whenever you least expected it, one of the mousiest bitches Sansa had ever encountered.

Arya cringed as they walked up the pastel-coloured stairs and in the pastel-coloured door, Irri was waiting inside, her thick black hair was tied in a knot on top of her head, she shot Sansa an icy glare that seemed to chill the whole building.

"You were supposed to open up today." she shouted in her heavily accented voice, "I had to phone Doreah and tell her you hadn't shown up! And Shae called in sick!" her dark brown eyes flickered down to look lividly at Arya, "You can't bring your sister."

"Sorry, Irri." said Dany, "It was my idea."

Irri sighed defeatedly and retreated back to the hair she was cutting. Missandei glanced up at them from behind the horn-rimmed glasses she always wore,

"I hate her too, Sansa." Missandei passed a list over the desk, "You have a bunch of appointments today, oh, and there's some girls coming in at around four, and they seemed pretty excited. Y'all have your hands full." Missandei took a smug sip of her pumpkin spice latte and went back to typing.

"Alright, Arya, sit your ass down." said Sansa, pointing to a couch as Dany arranged a bunch of makeup at her desk. Sansa dipped a pair of scissors in barbicide and Arya swished her camera around, warranting a glare from Jhiqui.

"Can I go outside and make a leaf pile?" Arya smirked, shining the lens of her camera with the sleeve of her sweater,

"Why in the fuck are you so obsessed with leaves? You're behaving like Zooey Deschanel and you know how much I hate her." Sansa bitched,

"Go on, Arya Underfoot." said Doreah, popping out from a corner in a short black lace dress and red heels, "Don't get hit by any cars, oh, Dany, that guy came by earlier."

"Hizdahr?" Dany looked up,

"No, Daario. He's a seedy bastard." Doreah started snipping hair, "I don't like him."

"There's nothing going on, we had sex once." Dany lined up a few brushes, she'd been having one night stands with whoever she could since July. It was someone different every night, and it only ever lasted about half an hour and then they left her crying in the kitchen. Sansa heard it every time.

Everyone in the apartment hated Daario Naharis.

He was the stereotypical douche, even Dany acknowledged that, he had blue-dyed hair which had achieved a douchey shape from the rims of multiple snapbacks. There was a tattoo of a diamond on his finger and Sansa wanted more than anything to just punch out that fucking gold tooth that he thought was getting him so much in his relationship with Dany.

"Daario's not that horrible." said Dany,

"One time he came into the apartment so blazed that Theon got high off of the leftover second-hand smoke."

"He can't help that every day is 420."

"Didn't he get that tattooed on his ass or something?" Irri smirked, "I could hook you up with Qotho, yeah sure, he's a dick sometimes but he's not always like that and he doesn't yell 'Yolo' during sex."

Dany's eyes glazed over at the mention of Drogo's brother. She'd been removed from the Khatchadourian family after the funeral and they'd been trying to contact her, Sansa always made an excuse whenever Drogo's mother called.

The bell on the door rang as two girls came into the salon, one was tall and blonde and the other looked kind of like Irri. Armenian?

"Hi." said the blonde to Missandei, "We had an appointment at four."

"It's 11 am." Missandei deadpanned, flipping through a magazine and adjusting her glasses, "Can you not tell time or are you just that damn stupid?"

"MISSANDEI!" Doreah screamed, "I'm sorry about her, girls, what did you ladies need?"

"We just came to get our hair and makeup done!" said the one who looked like Irri, "Hey, Jhiqui!"

"Eroeh, you shifty bitch, what're you doing here?"

"Kyra and I have dates for the first time in a calendar year, gotta look hot." she sat down in front of Dany, "Sorry if my face is at the point of no return, try your best, honey."

"If I could just get like something like this." said Kyra, holding up a picture of Lady Gaga at the 2013 VMAS. "You know, those sexual-ass curls."

Sansa went to work brushing out Kyra's hair, "Yeah, we can do that, Dany, you have to do something about Daario."

Dany popped a Clozaril. "You'll learn to like him."

"Didn't he try and get you to make a sex tape with him?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He said you need a nose job, he's an asshole." Sansa accidentally pulled harshly on Kyra's hair, "Sorry."

"You have really nice eyebrows." said Dany to Eroeh, shooting Sansa an annoyed look.


	2. Sansa II

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Theon, Jon and Asha were starting dinner when the got back. A few packages of Japanese takeout were on the coffee table and Theon had made the stupid decision to light candles.

"Oh, here we go!" said Dany, "We've become the typical young adults who view takeout as a food group and use candles for a light source because it's ironic, haha! Where's the fucking light-switch, I can't see shit in the dark."

"It's called an elegant way to reduce our power bill!" Theon announced through a mouthful of something Japanese. Dany's pale lavender eyes became fixed on the small flame as she sat down and made a show of groping on the table in the dark. Arya snapped a few pictures of the candles.

"So how was the salon?" said Asha, "See any desperate high schoolers?"

"Not exactly, but we saw Eroeh Vochkharian and some girl named Kyra."

Theon choked, "You saw Kyra?"

"Ooh!" Arya squealed, "Theon loves Kyra!"

"No, I just- How is she?"

"She was getting ready for a date." said Dany, Theon's excited expression fell into a defeated frown.

"With...?"

"Some bitch named Ramsay, if you must know everything, she told me. Ha." Dany reluctantly picked up a piece of chicken and licked it gingerly, Theon stared at the table. Jon's dog came over and tried to steal one of the boxes,

"No, no, no, Ghostie, must wait until Daddy is done!" Jon cajoled, tapping the husky on the nose.

"I don't trust that thing, Jon." said Asha. "I don't like the fact that you feed it things that I eat, like, what if it sneaks up while I'm sleeping and smells food on my breath and eats my mouth, what then, son?"

Sansa could remember idolizing Asha Greyjoy. From the time she was nine to the time she was fifteen. Asha had always been taller and prettier than a lot of girls at her school, but now at twenty-three, she just looked like a dejected, depressed Loblaws bagger. She had always been the favourite in her family, while Theon had been abused by their father and ignored by their mother. After Theon ran away from home and she decided to go after him, Asha hadn't been the same gorgeous, happy girl from middle school. But looking at her made Sansa feel safe in a weird way, a way she couldn't seem to describe but she knew it was there. Theon was a different can of worms. On a face where there had once been a smirk there was now no apparent expression, he coped with his emotional scars by being a complete asshole. Sansa knew he wasn't always like that, at least he hadn't been before, and he seemed decent at home. Still, he seemed to always have this look of fear on his face, as if still fearing a backhand from his father. Theon Greyjoy tried to come off as a dick, but the one thing he was most terrified of was confrontation.

"Sansa..." said Jon, "Aunt Lysa emailed me, look at these pictures." he passed her three printed-out pictures, the first one was of a young boy with brown hair sitting in a wheelchair and posing elatedly with a foot-long Coffee Crisp, another one with the same boy and a shorter curly-headed blonde one, then another one of the same boys and a woman with red hair and a pink Juicy sweatsuit. It had been three years since Bran and Rickon had gone away to live with their Aunt Lysa and cousin Robert. "Bran's already eleven, and Rickon's almost eight."

Sansa choked back tears and laid the photos on the table. Not saying one word.


	3. Daenerys I

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

In her disturbed sleep, Dany saw the woman's face.

She couldn't put her finger on where she'd seen her before, or if she ever had, for that matter. She remembered happier times, when Drogo was still alive and they still had a hope of becoming a real family, she remembered seeing that face glaring at them from around a corner somewhere.

The sound of a flatlining heart monitor jerked Dany awake.

But there she was, laying on a mattress in a pool of her own sweat, Arya was sawing logs next to her. She wasn't at the hospital, the woman was just another harmless hallucination like many others she'd come to know so well, and Drogo and Rhaego were just as dead as they'd been before.

_They're gone, slut._ Quaithe chided in Dany's ear, _Give up, they never loved you anyway..._ The grating voice whispered. Dany laid back down and covered her ears, trying to picture Drogo and Rhaego and shut Quaithe up, but the woman from the dream just kept coming back, wearing an arrogant, satisfied grin.

...

_Just don't screw her face up this time, bitch._ said Quaithe as Dany brushed eye shadow across Shae's eyelid, she knew she shouldn't be doing makeup for free, but Doreah would be willing to bend the rules for her, _You're pathetic, why do you still work here when everyone hates you?_

"SHUT UP!" Dany screamed, Shae looked up quickly,

"I didn't say anything, are you okay?" Shae stood up, "Maybe you should take a break, I understand." she put a hand on Dany's shoulder, "Just take a break."

"I'm fine, Shae, excuse me..." Dany sat next to Sansa, "I'm sick of everyone feeling sorry for me." she muttered under her breath,

Sansa looked up from the book she was reading, "It's kind of hard not to feel bad for you, the voices are clearly getting worse. After Drogo and Rhaego died, it's been getting out of control."

"It's just one voice this time, and..." Dany took a deep breath, "This woman, I keep seeing her, she looks kind of Armenian-ish, like, late forties..."

"I don't know anyone like that, but you have to try and draw the line between hallucinations and reality, you did it when Drogo was alive, you can do it again."

"She's not a hallucination, I can tell she's not this time, because I know I've seen her somewhere before."

"Where would you have seen her? I mean, I know you have a selective memory-."

"I've seen her before. It was somewhere that I don't want to remember."

"Was it in July?"

Dany shrugged, _You're an idiot. _Quaithe whispered, _You don't remember anything, no wonder you couldn't get through college. So stupid. STUPID STUPID BITCH, LOOK AT SANSA, right now she's thinking 'Daenerys is such a fucking retarded bitch', that's what she's thinking, you worthless-_

"Is anyone at home?" said Dany, cutting Quaithe off,

"Don't think so, Arya went to work with Jon."

"Do you think Doreah would be upset if I cut out early?"

"I'll ask her." Sansa offered, "You took your meds, right?" Dany didn't respond. "Why didn't you take them?"

"...She... she told me not to."

"That voice again?! You need to start ignoring it."

"I know." Sansa tossed Dany the bottle of Clozaril. She took one.

"I'm gonna go talk to Doreah, don't make me regret it."

"I love you!" Dany called.

_She's talking about you, retard._

"I know."

_Look at yourself, you're pathetic. Getting your friend to handle your problems. She's not a real friend. I'm a real friend, Daenerys._

"You're not even real."

_If I was about to marry you, I'd probably crash my car too. He was so merciful to that little baby... getting the two of them away from you._

Dany choked back tears, Shae stood up, "You want me to cover for you?"

Dany smiled, "You only have makeup on one eye..."

...

_Can't you walk any faster? God, you're so pathetic. _Dany started to almost run down the sidewalk towards the park, _Don't crash and burn like Drogo did, you're speeding, slut, you're speeding like he was. Why would you marry such an irresponsible driver? _

"He wasn't an irresponsible driver. And I'm not speeding, you told me to go faster."

_Don't be stupid. _Quaithe taunted, Dany felt cold breath on her shoulder and a clammy hand took hold of hers. _You should quit your job, nobody likes you there. Irri and Jhiqui HATE you, you murdered Drogo, you made him so miserable he had to crash his car to get away from you, and Doreah, Doreah is so much prettier than you, so is Shae, no wonder they both have boyfriends and you're just a hole for Daario's dick. Missandei's been spreading rumours about you, and Sansa never wanted you to move in with her. You should just be homeless, maybe then you'll lose some weight._

"I don't need to lose weight!" Dany snapped back. "Drogo said-."

_WHERE'S DROGO NOW? YOU ARE SUCH A STUPID CUNT. _Dany covered her ears but the voice just got louder, _Quit your job._

"I won't quit my job." Dany seethed, warranting a nervous glance from a couple on Drogo and Rhaego's bench, Dany stared at them and walked faster,

_Daenerys, if you don't quit your job I will stab you to death in your sleep._

"No you won't. You're not even real."

Dany felt a sharp pain between her shoulderblades,

_Do you want me to do it again?! You will quit your job tomorrow, Daenerys Targaryen, or you'll be joining your stupid kid and husband. Fat bitch. You're disgusting, you make me want to puke._

"You can't kill me, you're not even a real person." Dany felt what felt like a blade running down her arm and saw blood seeping through the sleeve of her jacket, she blinked and it was gone, and then back again. "STOP!" Dany ran into the lobby of the building and into the elevator.

_Do you want me to cut the elevator cable?_

"You wouldn't."

The elevator stopped and Dany rushed towards the door of the apartment, whipping her key out and almost tripping over the threshold, she dropped her purse and stumbled into the kitchen.

_YOU WILL QUIT YOUR JOB._

"STOP!" Dany screamed, "Stop... go away..."

_Don't listen to her._ said a male voice, Dany recognized it right away, _She just wants to hurt you, just ignore her._

"Drogo?!" Dany yelled, turning around and searching for the source of the voice, "Please come back."

_Idiot._ Quaithe laughed viciously, _did you honestly think it was him? Are you really that damn stupid? You stupid whore. _Quaithe slapped her, _I can't wait to stab you. It'll be tonight if you don't put bleach in Arya's dinner._

"I won't poison Arya."

_I hate the little bitch. Even more than I hate you. I want her dead. She always liked Drogo a lot, didn't she? And she loved the baby._

Dany heard the door unlock, Jon, Arya, Theon, Asha and Sansa came in.

"Hey, Sansa said you cut out early, is everything okay?" said Jon, "You look pale..."

"I'm fine." said Dany. "What did you get for dinner?"

Theon held up a bag, "We went by Taco Bell! Chillest day ever." he tossed her the bag, "Don't eat too many, you'll pass out, I speak from experience."

_What an idiot_. Quaithe condescended, _He's just like you, maybe he could replace Drogo, he's almost stupid enough to do that._

"Dany?" said Asha, "I was asking if you were going to drive Arya to school tomorrow."

"Sure... I'll drive her." Dany whispered.

_She'll be dead by tomorrow._

Sansa smiled. She didn't know.

* * *

"Damn, these tacos are good." said Jon through a mouthful of taco shell and meat. "Sooo good, none for you, Ghost. Tacos are bad for Ghostie."

The bottle of bleach was cold against Dany's bare skin where she'd stuffed it down her shirt. It felt like it was burning.

"ARYA, GET IN HERE AND EAT YOUR TACO, IT'S GETTING COLD." Sansa yelled, Arya came out of the bathroom.

_Good girl._ said Quaithe, _It was very good of you to put the bleach in there, you're a good girl, good girls deserve to be rewarded._

__"Oh yeah!" said Arya, picking up the taco. It was an inch away from her mouth...

_Don't stop her... DON'T STOP HER. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO DO, I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU-_

"NO!" Dany shrieked, ripping the taco out of Arya's hand, Arya stared at her in shock.

Dany stood up and sprinted into the bathroom.

...

She must have blacked out on the bathroom floor or something. When she opened her eyes, Theon was standing over her.

"...Dany, we're really worried." she stood up slowly, her head ached and spun, "I don't know what happened in there... Arya thinks... maybe it was something she did."

"No... no, she..." Dany took the bottle of bleach out of her shirt, her hand started to shake and she dropped it, bleach spilled over the tile floor. Theon pulled her against his chest.

"What did she tell you to do?"

"...She said she'd stab me if I didn't poison Arya." Dany sobbed, digging her nails into Theon's arms, "I don't know why I did it, don't let Arya eat anything..."

"Shh, don't do this, it's fine now."

"She could have died because of me."

"But she didn't, you didn't let her."

Dany didn't say anything else. Theon rocked back and forth, "Where's Arya now?"

"She's still out there. We didn't let her eat anything else."

"Don't." Dany whispered.

_You stupid bitch. _Quaithe taunted. _You stupid, stupid little bitch._


	4. Daenerys II

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

"How's school?" Dany asked quietly, the car was completely silent, Arya was sitting in the passenger seat, reading. The Giver. Dany had always hated that book.

"It's good."

"...I'm sorry about last night."

"Don't be sorry." said Arya, looking down, "It's okay that you see things, it must be hard. I knew a kid with schizophrenia once in 4th grade. He didn't have it like you have it though, his was really mild."

_If you tell her, I'll murder you._

"...The voice told me to... she told me to poison you."

_Stupid slut._

Arya froze, "Did you do it?"

Dany squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, Quaithe exhaled heavily in her ear and hot tears spilled down her face. Arya looked into her lap and closed her book.

"She said she'd kill me if I didn't...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize. You stopped me, right? That's all that matters."

"I won't do it again, I promise, I just... I don't usually listen to her."

"You miss them." said Arya, her greyish-blue eyes fixed on Dany's purple ones, "We all do, and when we miss people we love, we do stupid things. When my mom died, I broke a girl's wrist, when my dad died before that, I ended up on the other side of the city because I wanted to go and look for him." Arya exhaled, she seemed so much older than thirteen, her TNA jacket seemed to swallow her skinny shoulders. Dany suddenly felt like a little girl getting a talking to from her older sister,

"I understand if you're creeped out. A lot of people are."

"...I'm not scared. You're nice, you wouldn't ever hurt anyone if you had the choice." Arya looked down and a piece of dark brown hair fell in her face, "It's just that we always do what people tell us to do, even if those people are just hallucinations."

Dany stopped the car outside Arya's school, "Thanks for understanding." _You are a worthless whore. You are a disgusting, worthless little cunt. _Quaithe raged, yanking Dany's hair, Arya noticed the look on her face.

"What's she doing?"

"...Nothing... Have a good day at school."

Arya smiled and hugged Dany.

It felt weird, most of the other people in the apartment didn't touch her because of the way she flinched away from contact, and Daario never showed that kind of affection.

"Have fun doing makeup all day." Arya smirked, Dany laughed and drove away. It wasn't until she was halfway down the block when she noticed Arya had left her book on the dashboard.

...

The office of the elementary school made Dany's eyes hurt. Graduation pictures everywhere, bright yellow walls and a bored-looking secretary.

_You are a stupid bitch. You should have just killed her._

"Hi, uhm, I'm Arya Stark's sister's roommate." Dany awkwardly held up the book, her hands were shaking violently, "She left this is my car."

"OH, you can just head up to Room 213, she'll be there."

Dany smiled and walked slowly out of the office. She heard Quaithe muttering something unintelligible. She made it up the stairs, feeling like the building was expanding and every step she took was longer and longer...

...Until she found herself there.

_Everyone hates you, Dany._

She gently pushed the door open, a male teacher looked at her with confusion,

"Sorry... uh, Arya?" she said, holding up the book, Arya stood up and walked over,

"Thanks." she said softly. Dany blinked and at the back of the class thought she saw the woman from her dream, startled, she blinked violently to get her to go away. She wouldn't. "Dany?" Arya whispered, "What's back there?"

The woman smiled and said, in Quaithe's voice, "I killed them, Daenerys."

The eighth graders didn't react, Arya went back to her seat, and Dany left, scared and confused.

...

Dany burst into the salon, sweating and breathless.

"I'm here! I'm here, sorry." Several customers turned to stare,

"I was really worried." said Sansa, Doreah and Jhiqui nodded in agreement.

"Arya left her book in my car, and I took it back to her, Sansa, can I talk to you?" Dany eyed Doreah and Jhiqui, Doreah dove behind the front desk only to be kicked in the shoulder by Missandei, Jhiqui scurried away with a smirk on her face.

"Is this about last night?"

"You know that voice?" _You bitch, don't tell another person, you worthless whore._ "The one I always hear?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"...It told me... uh, it told me to poison Arya, to put bleach in her food."

Sansa froze, a look of raw fear and confusion on her face, "Oh. Well, she's okay, though, that's all that matters."

"You're pretty nonchalant about this whole thing, she could have died."

"And you technically saved her life." Dany didn't say anything. "Now, I need to get back to work before Irri stabs me or some shit."

_I'll stab you tonight._

"No you won't."

_You were being so good last night, Drogo would have been proud of you for following instructions so well. I love it when you listen to me, Daenerys. You're so much less worthless and stupid when you listen._

Dany reached into her pocket and withdrew her Clozaril. Quaithe's voice got louder in her ears the closer the pill got to her lips.

_You fucking slut, don't you dare take that pill, if you take that pill, I will-_

"Dany." Irri said from across the salon, pointing to a girl at the front desk, she had light brown hair. Dany went over to her desk, ignoring Quaithe's frantic muttering.

"Hi." said Dany softly, the girl sat down,

"I, uh, I have a party to go to tonight, I want to look hot. Something hot. I'm also gonna be wearing dark yellow."

"Okay..." Dany whispered, dipping a brush into a white eyeshadow.

"I'm Jeyne, by the way, Jeyne Poole."

"Dany."

"Your hair's really pretty." said Jeyne in a perky voice, "How do you get it that light blonde? It's almost white..."

"It is white. It's a genetic deformity. Kind of like albinism but not."

"Yeah, 'cause your eyebrows are brown. My hair's the colour of dirt."

"I like it."

"Yeah, my friend is black and she really wants blonde hair but I don't know why she'd want it because black hair is sexaaayyy." Jeyne remarked, "The girl at the desk is hot, damn, I'm seriously questioning my sexuality right now."

Dany ran black eyeliner over Jeyne's eyelid, Quaithe glared at her. Just glared. As the Clozaril began to take over, Dany thought she saw her brandishing a knife.


	5. Sansa III

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

A week passed.

Work continued normally. Sansa kept getting weird glances from a man who always loitered in the back parking lot of the salon. He was tall, with longish hair and a burn covering the entire right side of his face. He still seemed like less of a dick than Daario. Sansa wouldn't mention it to Dany though. She decided she wouldn't talk about this guy to anyone. Sometimes she wondered if she was starting to hallucinate, but right when she though so, Irri would come along and quip, 'Ah, what a creep'. Five days out of seven, he was there. Just watching her cut and curl and straighten and rinse and dye and blow-dry.

In the middle of the week, Sansa had been snooping in Arya's things when she found a box of Polaroids organized by date. Her hand hovered for a moment over July 29th.

Sansa remembered that day. She remembered going to work with Dany, she got yelled at by Irri for getting hair everywhere. She remembered Dany yelling at Drogo over the phone, 'Don't take the baby with you to get cigarettes, it looks bad!'. She remembered her friend picking up the salon phone a few minutes later and saying with a voice full of fear and dread the she was on her way.

Taking a deep breath, Sansa picked up a stack of photos.

With relief, she noticed that some had been taken before the accident, Rhaego in a tiny baby bed, Asha scolding Ghost for getting too close to the baby, and Drogo with his long hair and omnipresent smirk.

Sansa hated her sister for taking the next set of pictures. How dare she... Sansa forced herself to look, and once she'd looked, she couldn't tear her eyes away. It was horrible.

Arya had started taking pictures the second they arrived at the hospital. Compulsively. There were about six of Dany's bloodshot, horrified eyes and tear-stained face. One of Jon sitting against the wall in the hospital corridor outside the room, head in his hands. Two of Asha, begging the various medical personnel to do something. Two of Theon, outside the room as well, slamming clenched fists against the wall as if to make it obey his will. Four of Dany laying next to Drogo's comatose, broken body and begging him to wake up and say something. And the last one was taken about half a second before Dany turned off Life Support, when the air in the room became thin and impossible to breathe.

Sansa hadn't seen what had become of Rhaego. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She knew that he hadn't been in any pain. He was so little he died instantly. Judging by the way Dany had vomited for what seemed like hours it had been even worse than what happened to Drogo.

Upon reaching the end of the stack, Sansa put the photos back in the box. Dany's phone vibrated softly, muffled by the sheets. Sansa retrieved it, avoiding contact with her friend's hands.

_Daario Naharis, 2:47 am  
Baby, I'm so hornyyy_

Sansa shook her head in disgust, he was awful. The seediest dick she'd ever met. Another text appeared.

_Fuck, babe, I'm so hard right now..._

_Text me back, babe..._

_u wet yet babe?_

"JESUS!" Sansa whisper-screamed, thank God Dany didn't bother to give her iPhone a passcode. She scrolled through the previous messages. They were all explicit, often to the point of just being so bad they were good. Daario usually described just how hard he was. In graphic detail. Dany's response was actually adorable. Kind of like, 'oh, haha, yeah, I'm soo wet!' Sansa mentally slowclapped as she scrolled some more. There were a few pictures of parts of Daario that Sansa wanted to unsee and some of Dany with her shirt pulled to an insane angle, still, she stayed fully clothed, which Sansa was happy about.


	6. Daenerys III

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Quaithe slapped her awake with a biting backhand.

She'd had the weirdest dream. She was watching the accident from the backseat of the car. On the middle seat next to Rhaego, she'd tried to get Drogo's attention but he didn't seem to notice her, eyes fixed on the road and the rear-view mirrors. She tried to talk to the baby but he didn't hear her.

When the saw the other car approaching, she screamed to tell him to stop the car, he kept driving. And Dany saw that face again, in the colliding car. And she was grinning.

_Wake up, you stupid whore, you're going to be late for work._ Dany jerked up, it was still dark, her eyes darted to the clock on the oven.

It was 5 am. Four hours before she had to be at work. Quaithe laughed coldly.

The sun was just starting to come up, and it streaked the sky a pinkish-purple. Dany could barely keep her eyes open. Quaithe had been taunting her all night, on and off, ending with that dream, she was exhausted.

Daario had texted a lot during the night.

_Just woke up babe _

He texted back,

_I'm horny as fuck_

Dany texted again,

_Me toooo ur getting me hot_

_Send me a nude_

Dany stared at her phone,

_U serious?_

_Yeah babe ur hot_

_do I have to?_

_yeah, ur so sexyyy_

Dany didn't move for a few seconds. Her fingers hovered over the touchscreen of her phone, finally typing

_k one second_

She shakily stood up with Quaithe in her ear talking her all the way to the bathroom. She felt Quaithe's clammy hands pushing her forward.

She was pale in the mirror, even as she undressed, she was paler than her hair, dark purple scars laced her thighs, arms and abdomen. Quaithe scratched red tracks down her bare arms. _Don't screw this up, slut. You can't afford to look as fat and disgusting as you are in this picture._

Dany ignored Quaithe and placed her phone on the counter. She stood there and tried to look sexy. By the end she had taken seven pictures.

_God, you're disgusting. _said Quaithe. _Those cuts make you look like such a fucking schizophrenic. _Quaithe kicked her hard in the stomach, dropping her to her knees. _You fucking idiot, send the photos._

Dany quickly sent three of the photos, the ones were the cuts were the least visible. Quaithe touched her shoulder gently.

"Are you happy now?"

_I'm very happy, you're finally doing something right._

...

"YOU KNOW WHAT, IRRI, YOU CAN GO AND FUCK YOURSELF BECAUSE LORD KNOWS RAKHARO ISN'T GOING TO FUCK YOU."

"AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT?"

"HE'S NOT GAY!"

"FINE, YOU CAN HAVE HIM, DON'T FUCKING EAT HIM THOUGH."

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?"

"IT'S FUCKIN' KNOWN, BITCH!"

Dany and Sansa walked into the salon to find Irri and Jhiqui screaming at each other from opposite ends of the room, Missandei was crying behind the front desk, Doreah was wielding a curling iron and Shae was doing her best to shut them both up.

"What the hell happened?"

"They've been fighting for the better part of an hour." said Doreah, "Jhiqui was snapchatting Rakharo and things just went downhill from there."

"I CANNOT BELIEVE WE'RE RELATED!"

"AH, BELIEVE IT, JHIQUI, BELIEVE IT WITH ALL YOUR CLOGGED ARTERIES!"

"That was low, Irri." said Shae, "Y'all shouldn't be fighting."

"You're right." said Irri, "I'm taking the moral high ground." she sat down, "Jhiqui, I'm sorry."

Jhiqui glared at her sister, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna snapchat him back. Missandei, stop being such a pussy."


	7. Sansa IVSandor

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Sansa was closing up the salon.

The only other people there were Missandei and Doreah, who always stayed late, but Sansa closed up and walked home.

It was cold and dark out. The October air hit her square in the chest like a bucket of ice cold water and she wrapped her jacket tighter around her body. Lighting up a cigarette, she headed down the street and through the park. The smoke felt hot on her face as she walked through piles of red leaves.

From an upstairs window, Sansa heard music playing, it leaked out into the street and faded as she walked away, cutting through an alley.

She didn't know anyone else was there until they were right on top of her.

...

Sandor finished his last drink and tipped the bartender. Jaime glanced at him out of the corner of his eye,

"You know what..." Jaime Lannister slurred, "...I'll bet you any amount of money that I can marry Brienne."

"You've been dating for a month." Sandor deadpanned, "You really shouldn't be drinking."

Jaime looked at Sandor with an annoyed look on his face. "You don't have to be such a douche about it."

Sandor put a hand on Jaime's shoulder, "Just go home and sober up, please." A muscular blonde woman appeared behind Jaime, Brienne Tarth was possibly the weirdest looking human being Sandor had ever seen. She and Jaime started making out right there at the bar and Sandor left without another word.

As he made his way down the street, he heard a girl scream in the nearby alleyway.

...

Sansa was shoved onto the dirty ground of the alleyway, the man's hands covered her face, she kept screaming.

"SHUT UP BITCH." he snapped, "or it'll only be worse for you-"

Sansa thrashed, screaming as loud as she could until she couldn't scream anymore, until something happened.

The man jumped off of her, shouting profanities and sprinting off down the alley, Sansa was paralyzed with horror until she saw him standing over her, the guy from outside the salon.

"You okay?" he asked, Sansa didn't say anything, he took her hand and pulled her almost roughly to her feet. She collapsed against him, "Where do you live, I'll take you home."

...

The girl was shivering with tears streaming down her face, she had the remnants of a cigarette still clenched between her thin fingers, she had ground it out on the raper's face. Sandor could feel her heart beating frantically against his ribcage. Her tangled red hair falling in her face. Sandor knocked hard on the door, and a short girl with white hair answered, why in the fuck was her hair white? He'd heard of albinism but that was ridiculous.

"Sansa, oh my God..." Sansa took a few tremulous steps forward and collapsed sobbing in the other girl's arms, "What happened?" the girl stared at Sandor with wide purple eyes, "And who the fuck are you?" she asked, almost angrily.

"Your friend had an altercation." Sandor said plainly. The white haired girl glanced at Sansa and then back at Sandor,

"I... uh... Just, come in and explain."


	8. Theon I

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

"Hey Theon!" said Kyra, waving form her habitual spot in the Starbucks next to Eroeh, Theon waved awkwardly and smiled a little, he felt his face turn bright red and he ducked into the back room, Kyra and Eroeh giggled.

"Eyes front, Greyjoy." Loras Tyrell chided as he sifted through some cup lids.

"Calm down, Loras." said Margaery, Loras's sister, "He's just a little excited, Kyra's pretty, I don't blame him."

"She has a boyfriend." said Theon, picking up a stack of venti cups and sticking them in a slot behind the counter. "Hey, do you know Dany Targaryen?"

"Yeah, Sansa's friend, the crazy one." said Loras,

"Loras, she's not crazy." said Margaery calmly, smiling and putting on her Starbucks apron, "She's mentally ill, and you'd be too if your fiancé and baby were killed in a car crash." Margaery tossed her curly brown hair. "What about her, Theon?"

"...I think I might... uhm..."

"EEK!" Loras shrieked, wringing his hands, surpassing the gay stereotype by a landslide, "Little Theon Greyjoy is in L-O-V-E!" Kyra looked up and snickered, Eroeh smirked through a mouthful of salted caramel mocha, Theon looked at the ground, a customer came to the counter,

"Hi, how can I help you?" said Margaery, jumping towards the cash register,

"Seriously though, this is insane, you're in love with Dany Targaryen?"

"I don't know, I mean, she's dating that asshole Daario and she just lost her fiancé and son."

"I think you should make a move, it worked with Renly and me."

"Well, Renly was stabbed last year."

"That doesn't mean Dany's going to get stabbed, you need to show her how you feel." Loras smirked and started making the vanilla latte, "But why Dany, isn't she a little... unstable?"

"Well, yes, but she's not like those girls like Kyra and Eroeh who are just starting university and don't know anything, she's really smart and beautiful, and maybe I feel kind of bad for her."

"You're gonna make her feel worse if you start fucking her. She'll feel all guilty, and take it out on you and there's no going back from that, Theon Greyjoy."

"Last name? Really?"

"Just trying to make my point." Loras handed the latte over the bar, the customer picked it up, staring at it glazed, ecstatic eyes,

"Thank you." she whispered breathlessly,

"It's just a latte, hon." said Loras, smirking as the customer scurried out.

"...People get really fired up over caffeine." Margaery quipped. "So, how are you gonna tell Dany?"

"She has a boyfriend." Theon singsonged.

"Isn't he an asshole?" said Margaery, "Sansa told me she was dating an asshole."

"Yeah, Daario was actually banned from here."

"Oh, right, the guy who tried to shoplift the one of the blenders."

Kyra and Eroeh stood up from their table and walked towards the back exit, Theon waved awkwardly as they were leaving, Kyra smiled and Eroeh almost tripped she was laughing so hard.

"Little bitch." said Margaery, "There are so many ways I could physically harm Eroeh and yet I haven't. That's what I call delayed gratification." Margaery cackled, then spun around to watch the door, "UGH! CUSTOMERS!" she whined, "JUST GET IN HERE SO I CAN SELL Y'ALL SOMETHING AND GET PROMOTED."

...

Theon pulled up outside Arya's school, she ran out the front doors and dove into the front seat.

"What did you get me?"

"Why do you always expect something? How was school?"

"Pretty chill. Some kids got into a fist-fight, it was pretty bloody."

"...Okay."

"Is Sansa okay?" said Arya, glancing over with a terrified look in her eyes suddenly,

"Yeah, I think so."

"She cares more about me and Dany than she does about herself. It pisses me off."

"Well, she and Dany have been friends since they were little, and you're her sister."

"She could have died." said Arya, Theon thought he saw little tears starting to form. "I'd be the only one left, aside from Jon and our brothers."

"She didn't die." said Theon, it seemed like the only thing he was capable of saying. "...So, Dany said you're reading the Giver."

"I hate it." said Arya, looking less depressed suddenly, "We're only four chapters in and I already want Jonas to die." Arya rolled her eyes, Theon started to titter nervously.

...

Everyone was at the apartment when they got back. Dany and Asha were eating their way through a twelve-pack of cupcakes, Sansa was reading and Jon was either drunk or just tired.

"Y'all don't look so good." said Arya, "Honestly, this is a problem, y'all are supposed to be adults."

"Mind your own beeswax." said Asha through a mouthful of cupcake. "Oh, snap, I should probably tell y'all this now, I won't be here tomorrow night. My... wonderful boss decided I have to work the late shift."

"Jon and I can second that." said Sansa, "We have to go into Burlington to talk to some people about maybe gaining custody of Bran and Rickon, and we promised Arya she could come see them too." Arya put up her deuces,

"SO." said Dany, "Just the two of us, Theon. Hope you like cupcakes, it's all I really know how to make."


	9. Daenerys IV

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Dany got home from work around seven. Theon was waiting for her, sitting on the couch typing something she didn't care to ask about. Jon had taken Ghost with him to Suburbia so there was no reason to get out the dog food.

_Walk faster, Jesus Christ, you walk like you're dead._ Quaithe chided. Dany started to walk faster, kicking off her shoes, she stood over Theon.

"So?" she said expectantly, Theon looked up.

"So what?"

"You expect me to make dinner?"

"You think I can cook?"

"Oh, am I your little housewife now? How very progressive of you. I hope you like cupcakes."

"Love 'em."

"Good." said Dany, going into the kitchen and taking out all the things she needed. Flour and vanilla extract and all the other shit. Quaithe took a seat on the counter. "Stop staring at me." Dany whispered so Theon couldn't hear as she poured flour and sugar into the mixing bowl.

_You're doing it wrong._

"What the fuck do you know about cupcakes? Go away."

Quaithe kicked Dany in the leg, she ignored it and put 4 sticks of butter into the bowl, then cracked four eggs.

"Have you heard from Sansa?" said Theon,

"Yeah, she called me at work, they're in Burlington now, Rickon sounds like an adorable little bastard and Bran's even sassier than Arya, apparently." The apartment was silent, Quaithe didn't say anything, the only noise was the sound of the whisk in the plastic bowl, Dany poured the milk and vanilla extract in. Vanilla extract was possibly the stupidest thing in existence, it tasted like vanilla when it was baked in something but on it's own it tasted like complete garbage.

"I can't believe cupcakes are the only thing you know how to make, like, not something simple like grilled cheese or bacon but cupcakes, what a random selection of foods."

"Well, be thankful I know cupcakes. When Sansa turned ten we all made cupcakes at her house." Dany put the batter in the baking sheet and shoved it into the oven. "My brother tried to get me to make other things but I never liked cooking. Anyway, people like cupcakes." Dany paused, wiping a burgeoning tear as she remembered her son and Quaithe laughed coldly, "Rhaego was obsessed with cupcakes."

"...I liked that kid." said Theon softly. Dany was almost shocked, nobody really talked about Drogo and Rhaego around her, they hadn't really even addressed it since the funeral. Dany was almost relieved. Theon remembered. "I'm sorry. None of it should have ever happened." Dany sat next to Theon. "I can't even imagine what it's like to lose someone the way you did, two people..." Theon trailed off, Dany took a shaky breath and Quaithe scowled at her from the kitchen,

"Thanks." she whispered.

"What, what're you talking about?"

"No-one really talks about them anymore. I just... It's nice to know that someone remembers them and misses them because honestly for a while it didn't seem like anyone cared. I know people treat me differently, but pushing their memories aside doesn't make everything better." Theon was completely silent. After a few seconds he started to laugh, "What?!"

"You're so fucking normal." Dany raised an eyebrow, "Why did I think you were all mentally handicapped? You're one of the normal-est people I've ever seen!"

"EXACTLY!" Dany shouted, standing up and pacing in a circle, "PEOPLE DON'T FUCKING GET IT, I'M NOT A SCHIZOPHRENIC, well, I am, BUT I'M NOT! I'M A SEXY BITCH WITH AMAZING TITS WHO BAKES CUPCAKES!" Theon sat there, looking confused and smiling, "The fuck did you think I was?"

"No offense, but ever since Sansa told me you had schizophrenia I thought... I thought you were like... typical, murderous psycho. Like I honestly thought you'd be sitting in a corner rocking back and forth instead of getting paid to touch other people's faces."

Dany exhaled in relief, "Thank you so much." she glanced behind her, Quaithe was standing there but not doing anything, this was insane, "You're the first person ever who's admitted that to me since I was first diagnosed when I was eleven. People want to make me feel good about what I have and call me inspiring and try to sugarcoat it."

Theon was sitting there and smiling incredulously. He stood up, "I'm gonna go shower."

...

He came out of the shower after about 20 minutes. Dany had been on Facebook and listening to the occasional insult from Quaithe when he came into the room,

"Didn't you have cupcakes in there?" he asked, pointing into the kitchen,

"SHIT!" Dany screamed, jumping up and running to take the burning cupcakes out of the stove,

"How bad is it?"

"Fine!" she yelled into the stove, the cupcakes were dark brown, too brown for vanilla, Dany iced them hastily with a can of frosting she found on the door of the fridge and placed them on the coffee table in the main room. Theon inspected them and smirked,

"Not that bad."

"Har fricking har, I can't even make cupcakes."

Theon peeled the charred surface off of one, "The inside looks okay. These are kind of good, actually."

"They don't feel like rocks?"

"Oh, they feel like rocks but in a good way."

Dany narrowed her eyes and chewed the top off a cupcake. Quaithe was being really quiet, she was sitting in a corner, just sulking. She looked pissed but she wasn't hurting Dany at all. She just stared at him, his dark brown hair was still wet and obscured her view of his blueish-green eyes. It wasn't until now that she noticed the scars on his face and arms, the ones on his arms looked like they had been on purpose, almost instinctually, Dany ran a hand over her own. She'd known Theon had been abused up until he turned eighteen and moved out, his three other brothers had died before he was born and his father despised him for not measuring up to what they had been. His mother ignored him and he grew up in Asha's shadow. Dany remembered moving around from foster home to foster home with Viserys, and how up until he died in that fucking fire he had tried to give her a good life. At least he'd tried.

Theon glanced nervously around the room. Dany moved closer to the table. The room was dead silent.

"I... I'm sorry about your family." Theon whispered. His hand gravitated towards hers. Dany felt a weird stirring in her stomach, something she hadn't felt since Drogo had been alive. Theon's hands were cold, she felt her face get hot and flushed.

"It's fine." Dany whispered, "You know, I... I finally feel like I'm doing well."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, like..." Quaithe got up from where she was standing and started towards them, Dany and Theon leaned together slowly, and what started out as a gentle kiss turned into something more vigorous, until they were on top of each other on the couch, and Dany's sweater was off and Theon's hands were tangled in her hair. Through it all, Quaithe never said a word.

...

Theon had gone downstairs to get wine at around nine-thirty. Dany pressed her face against the tile wall of the bathroom, it was cool under her flushed cheeks, the room was silent, silent and cold and still, her ears rang with the absence of noise, even her head was quiet and at peace. She could have fallen asleep there, if Quaithe hadn't entered the room, her face livid behind the red mask she always wore.

_You fucking slut_, she growled, grabbing Dany's wrist and wrenching her to her feet. _Theon makes you feel good doesn't he? He makes you happy? Do you know where I go when you're happy? Do you remember what happened to me when Drogo was still alive?_

"I didn't see you or hear you anymore." Dany answered calmly, "Get away from me, you're nothing more than a fucking hallucination."

Quaithe seethed, her hand licked out and slapped Dany in the face, _You stupid, stupid, girl, I'm more real than anything. If you call me a hallucination one more time I'll make sure not even Theon will be able to make you happy._

"You're a hallucination." Dany whispered dangerously, "You don't exist, just like everything the psychiatrists told me. You can't hurt me."

_HOW ABOUT NOW? _Quaithe drove her foot into Dany's ribcage, she dropped to her knees, _I_ kick _WILL_ kick _MAKE_ kick _SURE _kick_ YOU NEVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! _Quaithe kicked Dany in the face, her ears rang and she couldn't see, she was almost certain her nose was broken. She caught a glimpse of her bloodied face in the full-length mirror, there was a gash down her cheek and her nose was bleeding heavily. Quaithe kicked her a few more times, until she couldn't sit upright anymore, then Quaithe stepped on her face and walked calmly out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened,_ See you in hell, Daenerys._

That was all Dany saw before she blacked out.


	10. Daenerys V

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

The hospital room was cold and white and smelled like a mix of rubbing alcohol and the inside of a latex glove. Dany opened her eyes and saw a woman with dark red hair and lipstick to match standing over her. Her scrubs were red. It was like she'd fallen into a vat of red paint.

"Look who finally woke up!" she sang, "My name is Dr Melisandre Rougement, but feel free to call me Melisandre or just Mel."

"Am I in a hospital?"

"Yep. Toronto East General, psychiatric ward. You had quite the round of tactile hallucinations but we've given you a heavy dose of anti-psychotics so you should be fine for the next four hours. We're going to have to keep you overnight, though. Just to make sure you're stable." Theon stepped into Dany's line of vision, his face was dark and scared, his pale teal eyes slightly teary.

"She was beating me up." said Dany. "Quaithe."

"Who's Quaithe?" said Melisandre, sitting on the edge of her bed,

"I've been seeing her since I was a baby. When I was little she used to tell me to burn things."

"Does she tell you to do that anymore?"

Dany shook her head, "Can you call my work and tell them I won't be in today?"

"I'll do it." said Theon, walking towards the door and stumbling into the hall.

"So, I'm going to have to start seeing you regularly."

"No, we can't afford it, I'm a cosmetologist-"

"I've offered to do it for free." Melisandre smiled, "I knew your father, I treated him for a few years before he died. You look so much like him, it's crazy."

"Yeah. So was he."

"The Targaryen family has a history of mental illness."

"Yep. There's usually at least one in every generation. When my brothers both turned out fine, everyone kind of accepted that it was only a matter of time before I started to slowly lose it."

Melisandre glanced towards the door, "Is that your boyfriend?"

"I don't know." the corners of Dany's mouth twitched into a small smile,

"He's cute." Melisandre quipped, "He was freaking out when he brought you in."

"Yeah, he, uh, he has a tendency to overreact."

...

Dany woke up the next morning with Theon's arms wrapped around her in a way that could only remind her of Drogo. Quiathe was sitting next to the window, curled in on herself and terrified, the lines of her body were blurred by the antipsychotics that had been intravenously pumped into her body overnight. Theon had pink tracks down his face from tears, Dany moved closer to him.

It felt way too similar to the night at the same hospital the night of the accident, she had been doing exactly what Theon was doing. Except no-one had died this time. Dany remembered holding Drogo's broken, unresponsive body and begging him to wake up, and seeing what had been her beautiful baby Rhaego in a state she felt sick describing, he hadn't been even a year old. Thinking back, she felt some relief for him, he had been killed instantly in the crash, as horrible as it was, he hadn't lingered like Drogo had. Everything had been so beautiful and perfect before, Quaithe didn't hurt her, she had a shot at another real family and she had been so in love. But they were gone forever, and Dany had no choice but to kill herself or continue living without them, with Quaithe in her head at all times, reminding her how disgusting and worthless she was, she'd never felt this low before July. Part of her didn't want to love Theon the way she did, she was still very much in love with someone who had been dead for almost four months, but Theon was here, living and breathing and reciprocating her feelings. She felt so bad for putting him through all her copious problems.

"I'm so sorry. Please don't think this is what it's always like." Theon opened his eyes, when he saw her he pulled her closer, "Stop, Theon, you're killing me-."

...

The car ride home was silent and awkward. Theon's eyes were glued to the road and every so often would stray over, Dany kept pulling her sleeves farther down.

"I understand what you're going through." Theon said softly.

"Really?" said Dany in a tone that was more argumentative than anything, "You've been choked out, verbally abused and beaten by someone who doesn't exist, really?"

"That's not what I meant." Theon inhaled deeply, "When I was 16, uh, my girlfriend shot herself."

"Did you have a baby with her? Was she the closest thing you had to a family? Because if not, you don't understand what I'm going through." Theon was silent, "...I'm sorry..."

"...I could be your family." he said quietly, Dany's thought process came to a standstill, she suddenly felt hot tears pouring down her face, Theon's hand came to rest on hers and she couldn't bring herself to pull away. She felt like such an ass for feeling this way about him. She loved Drogo, she loved her son, she loved Theon... As the antipsychotics began to wear off she kept hearing Drogo's voice in Theon's, and his face, and she cried harder. She felt the weight of Theon's arm resting around her shoulders. Still he kept driving.

"I love you..."Dany whispered, she glanced into the backseat, Quaithe was sitting there with a knife in her hand, she lunged forward, Dany screamed.

The car swerved violently into the other lane, Theon shrieked and straightened the car out,

"Ohhh, Christ." Dany seethed and punched Theon in the crotch. "Hey, what the fuck are you-"

"YOU ASSHOLE, WE COULD HAVE DIED."

Theon exhaled heavily and kept his eyes on the road.

...

_I own you, Daenerys, you're my property, my little toy, I don't give a fuck what any psychologist says, I'm here to stay._

Dany spent the rest of the day on auto-pilot, putting makeup on people, telling them how beautiful they looked and then locking herself up in the back room of the salon until Doreah told her she had another person waiting, the end of the day came finally.

Walking home with Sansa was nearly silent. Dany saw how pale her friend looked, she'd been different after going to see her aunt in Burlington. Apparently they would be able to have full custody of the boys once their financial situation cleared up and their living situation was secure. And when Dany moved out. Lysa Arryn had expressed her concerns about Bran and Rickon living with a schizophrenic, especially after what had happened with Arya. Sansa had kept apologizing and apologizing.

"So, you and Theon?" Sansa finally asked,

"Yeah, it's... it's weird."

"As long as you're happy. You've been through similar things."

"He has a family."

"An abusive family."

"They still exist. They acknowledge him, they're trying to fix it, I never even got to see my parents."

Sansa put an arm around Dany's shoulders, "I know, I'm sorry, so, uh, my aunt and the boys are coming into town."

"I thought you said she didn't want anything to do with me."

"She's decided to give you a try. And uh... you know the Lannisters?"

"Yeah, why?"

"They've offered to help us out with money and they've also offered to let us use their house."

"Why would we need their house?"

"We need Lysa to think we're stable. We're going to have a civilized dinner at the Lannister house, and hopefully Lysa will make up her mind."


	11. Theon II

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

The Lannisters lived in Rosedale in a huge grey house decorated with ivy and ethereal murals of lions, Cersei was gorgeous, tall and blonde in a red dress, Theon was convinced she'd had a couple drinks, then Jaime and Tyrion followed. Jaime Lannister always showed up at Starbucks with his girlfriend Brienne. Tyrion was the black sheep of the family who was married to one of Sansa and Dany's coworkers and didn't seem to be offended when someone pointed out his dwarfism. Sandor Clegane showed up later after picking up the kids from art class. Myrcella and Tommen were sweet and blonde and quiet, they had been abused by their late brother Joffrey, Theon liked them better than the rest of their entourage. Sandor couldn't keep his eyes off of Sansa. Finally Lysa Arryn came. She was dressed up, the Juicy tracksuit she was wearing was light pink with 'Juicy' embroidered on the ass in blue rhinestones. Bran Stark was a skinny, sassy boy of eleven with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes which he rolled whenever Cersei fingered his wheelchair and gushed over how inspired she was by him, like most boys of his age, he was convinced he was smarter than everyone else. Rickon was gentle and quiet, with light auburn curls and glassy blue eyes, he sat next to Sansa all night, holding her hand.

Dany sat quietly in all black, frantic fingers screwed with her translucent black tights as if they burned her skin, every now and then Asha would whisper something to her concernedly, in response to which she would shake her head and smile. Sansa downed drink after drink, which Lysa ignored, as she was too busy staring at Dany with calculating eyes. Perhaps she could tell this house didn't belong to them.

The Lannisters did their best to keep up the charade, Cersei comically kept asking Asha to tell her where the powder room was, a routine which they had rehearsed at length. Lysa didn't seem to find it all that funny, and didn't understand why Cersei kept forgetting where the powder room was. Jaime had securely locked both the children's rooms and hid any evidence that might suggest kids lived there in the first place, Tyrion hid all his little clothes.

Theon was worried the ruse wasn't good enough. Bran seemed doubtful. He frequently asked why they hadn't lived in a house like that when their lawyer parents were alive. Sansa lied and said it was a gift. With every lie, Cersei got drunker and drunker and her lips got looser and looser, Jaime and Tyrion kept trying to make her quit but she responded with a few short jokes aimed at Tyrion, (You're so short you tripped over a penny!) and a jab at Jaime for being 'a controlling little man-diva'. She straightened out after puking a few times and after Dany forced her to go lay down for a few minutes.

Sandor and Sansa disappeared after a while. Theon honestly didn't want to know where they went or what they were doing. Sandor creeped him out even more than Daario.

"Know what?" said Cersei, "I can put my leg behind my head." Cersei lifted her leg and Tyrion slapped her in the shin, Lysa gagged on her Bloody Mary, ('It's not a work night!' she had insisted.)

"Colourful friends you have." said Lysa to Jon, "What is it they do again?"

"I'm a housewife." Cersei hiccupped, "My husband here-" she pointed at Jaime, "Is a pediatrician and my brother is unemployed because, let's face it, mice can't hold jobs... We live down the street."

"You look familiar..." said Lysa, "Cersei Lannister?"

"No!" Cersei yelled, "I don't know who that is. I'm... Cherries Lancaster."

"Oh. Alright."

"I'm getting so bendy." Cersei giggled, "I'm a pretzel, you guys."

"Sorry about her, she's been depressed after her last husband died." Asha covered, "And her son." Cersei looked suddenly sad. Theon excused himself, and headed towards one of the Lannisters' many bathrooms down the hall, he opened the door and saw Sansa and Sandor kissing in the bathtub, Theon yelped and slammed the door shut, he sprinted down the hall to the next available bathroom, he sat on the edge of the tub and closed his eyes with his head in his hands.

He needed to be away from people. He had a headache from Cersei's voice and his hands ached from being clenched into tight fists.

The door opened, Dany was standing there.

"Come on. I'm not an idiot, you always excuse yourself when you're bored."

"You've had a couple drinks."

"That and I'm buzzed on clozapine, it's making me salivate." Dany sat on his lap with her face to his, "Quaithe's been leaving me alone, we have until the medication wears off."

"I don't want to leave you when it does."

"Usually I just take another pill." Dany whispered, pushing her lips against Theon's and beginning to unzip the back of her black dress, "She's been nice to me since this morning. She won't hurt me like that again."

Dany leaned back, purple eyes heavily-lidded by black mascara. Her lipstick was a dark plum colour, silver bangs falling in her eyes. She was gorgeous... Theon hadn't seen her happy since Drogo and Rhaego had died. Theon wondered if she was thinking the same about him, maybe there had been a time when he was happy and then he'd lost it. Theon couldn't remember. She removed the top half of her dress, the outline of her black lace bra casting a shadow over her pale chest.

"This is a big house."

"Shitload of rooms..." Dany smirked, she leaned in again but Cersei flung the door open, a waft of wine came off her.

"Hey, you guys. I gotta get in there." she whined, kneeling in front of the toilet.

...

Rickon and Tommen had fallen asleep around ten. Bran and Myrcella insisted that they weren't tired, Arya kept trying to take a sip of someone's drink every now and then. Sandor and Sansa were still MIA and Jaime and Tyrion were arguing off to the side about who had supplied Cersei with whiskey, so far, it looked as if Tyrion was winning although Theon knew he was to blame for his sister's behaviour. Dany had written all over Asha's arm in eyeliner and Lysa looked incorrigibly uncomfortable. Jon came out of the kitchen holding a platter of something Cersei had bought. All Theon knew was that it had been expensive and it was most likely vegan.

"Cherries..." Tyrion warned, "Remember, you have to meet Myrcella's teacher tomorrow."

"Oh, Schmyrion." Cersei slurred, "Y'cant order me aroouun', ohhhmy God, youuu're even more worser than Dad..."

"Ha!" said Lysa, "Tyrion Lannister, the Imp! I know you!"

"Lancaster." Tyrion corrected, "And I've never met you before in my life."

"You're Tyrion Lannister, we were in college together. Everyone called you the Imp, remember?"

Tyrion shrugged, "Sorry, no."

"Where is my niece?" Lysa inquired, "I need to speak to her about this whole custody thing."

"You've already talked about it a little bit, uh, I think she's tired." said Asha.

"I'm gonna go get another drink!" Dany announced,

"I'll do it." said Jaime, taking her glass and half-sprinting into the kitchen,

"Get me one too!" Cersei called, draining a full glass of California Merlot, "Aw, snap, it's lights-out for Cherries..." she keeled sideways out of her chair and collapsed on the white carpet. "I'm okay! Don't get up!"

Theon watched as Cersei clawed her way up the side of her chair with messy blonde hair and clouded green eyes, she was absolutely pathetic but Theon couldn't help but feel bad for her. He could tell Dany was empathetic.

Jaime walked quietly back into the living room and handed Dany her drink, Cersei glared at him when he sat next to her empty-handed, swayed in her chair, and eventually just laid across her brother's lap. Theon looked around the room, his sister looked bored.

Sansa and Sandor snuck back into the room, Sandor's burned face was streaked with Sansa's red lipstick and Sansa's dress was on inside out. She sat down next to Dany, who whispered something, in response to which Sansa laughed and Dany rolled her eyes looking annoyed. Arya slid off the couch and put her shoes on her hands, Bran and Myrcella headed towards the backdoor and she followed them.

"Sansa, finally."

...

Theon and Dany went out back after Sansa, Jon and Lysa began to discuss custody of the boys. Dany was smoking on one side of the porch and Theon sat there with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. The smell of Dany's Northfields made him cough and reminded him of when Asha would smoke them in high school.

She glanced over.

"Want one? I have a lot more."

"That's okay, I don't smoke."

"I probably shouldn't either, I'm coked up on anti-psychotics all day everyday, shouldn't be inhaling tar." Dany took a long drag off her cigarette and exhaled smoke into the orange light of the streetlamps. "I hope Sansa gets the boys." Dany ground out her cigarette, "Well, after everything resolves itself." She wrapped her jacket tighter around her body and sat on Theon's lap.

The kiss tasted like nicotine and lip gloss. Theon felt her heart beating violently against his ribcage. He pulled her closer but suddenly she pulled away, in the light of the streetlamps and the light from inside, Theon saw tears spilling down her face.


	12. Theon III and Arya I

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

**Okay, so I don't own the excerpts from the Giver. and I reference my own actual school in here ;)**

"Grande decaf vanilla latte with extra foam please, hi Theon." said Kyra, popping up in front of the Starbucks counter, it was like she'd exploded out of the floor.

"Hey, Kyra. Where's Eroeh?"

"She's already at the school." Kyra giggled, pulling the neckline of her shirt down a few inches and grinning, "I don't know, I need caffeine, isn't that weird? Like, I'm majoring in psychology and I'm feeding my coffee addiction."

"LORAS." Theon yelled, "GRANDE DECAF VANILLA LATTE, EXTRA FOAM."

Kyra set her notebooks on the counter and leaned forward, Theon could now see clearly down her shirt, "So, how are things with you?"

"Uh... Well, they're good, we're all good."

"You live with Sansa Stark, right?"

"Yeah."

"She did my hair a while ago. I didn't exactly score though, my date sent his dog after me and it chased me out of the restaurant and stood outside my house for half a day. C'est la vie, that's French. I'm learning French. It's Canada's second official language so I'll get more jobs that way."

"Probably will. Your drink's ready."

"Okay, thanks. Do you wanna, uh, maybe talk sometime? I mean, I don't get a lot of time away from Eroeh and... uh, we haven't seen each other for awhile..."

"...Sure, yeah."

"Great, I'll call you." Kyra smiled and retrieved her drink, "Bye."

* * *

"EWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Arya screamed, "KYRA SMELLS LIKE CLAM JUICE."

"I'm an adult." Theon argued back. "I make my own choices."

"What about Dany though? In my opinion, if you drive someone to a mental hospital, have sex with them and then lie about where you live with them, you're pretty much almost married."

"...she does not smell like clam juice."

"Oh, she does."

"That was one time. The one time you met her, she had spilled clam juice on her pants. That's why she-."

"Oh and also Dany."

"Don't try to pull that on me, just because she's been through shit in the past year doesn't mean I have to be overly nice to her, she let Daario fuck her until she couldn't walk last night, you don't hear me bitching about that."

"I didn't need to hear that."

"Call Asha for me, tell her I'm going out tonight."

"OOoooh, with Clamra?"

"_Kyra_. Yes."

"Don't let her snap you up like a giant clam."

"You're not clever."

...

Theon found Kyra in the lobby of the apartment building at 10 pm. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with black lace sleeves, she looked hot, to be honest. Theon felt like smacking himself in the face for even looking at her, part of him wanted to sprint back into the elevator but something kept him there in the lobby.

"Hey!" she said, "So, where are we going tonight?"

"Oh. I didn't actually make any reservations."

Kyra glanced at her phone, "I don't think any restaurants will just let us in..." she looked at the ceiling, "I guess we'll just have to go somewhere."

...

"FUCK, IT'S POURING!"

"OF ALL NIGHTS TO POUR RAIN, WAS IT REALLY NECESSARY?" Kyra squealed, running into an empty doorway, Theon followed, "The weather forecast didn't even call for rain..."

**Arya**

It was pouring rain outside. Asha was working late again, Sansa and Jon had agreed to meet Aunt Lysa at a restaurant in the East End to discuss, oh, surprise surprise, the fucking custody shit again. Ghost was sleeping. Arya and Dany sat quietly across from each other while the rain continued to hammer on their windows. In the apartment upstairs, some people ran around. Dany kept her eyes down, occasionally they flickered up to stare at something that wasn't there, or to inspect her nails. Arya had been reading under the table. Reading parts of the book she'd already finished, she would have to write a report on the book, so she wanted to read it again thoroughly instead of just skimming like she'd been doing in class.

_"I don't like hair ribbons. I'm glad I only have to wear them one more year," Lily said irritably. "Next year I get my bicycle, too," she added more cheerfully._

_"There are good things each year," Jonas reminded her. "This year you get to start your volunteer hours. And remember last year, when you became a Seven, you were so happy to get your front- buttoned jacket?"_

_The little girl nodded and looked down at herself, at the jacket with its row of large buttons that designated her as a Seven. Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn independence._

_The front-buttoned jacket was the first sign of independence, the first very visible symbol of growing up. The bicycle, at Nine, would be the powerful emblem of moving gradually out into the community, away from the protective family unit._

Arya thought about when her mother had given her her camera for her 12th birthday. She had gone on a power trip for a few weeks after receiving it, she felt like she had a newfound maturity. Looking back now, she could see how dumb she'd been. She flipped to the place she'd marked in the book, where she'd left off.

_The Giver rose from his chair, went to the speaker on the wall, and clicked the switch from OFF to ON._

_The voice spoke immediately. "Yes, Receiver. How may I help you?"_

_"I would like to see this morning's release of the twin." _

_"One moment, Receiver. Thank you for your instructions."_

_Jonas watched the video screen above the row of switches. Its blank face began to flicker with zig-zag lines; then some numbers appeared, followed by the date and time. He was astonished and delighted that this was available to him, and surprised that he had not known._

_Suddenly he could see a small windowless room, empty except for a bed, a table with some equipment on it-Jonas recognized a scale; he had seen them before, when he'd been doing volunteer hours at the Nurturing Center- and a cupboard. He could see pale carpeting on the floor._

_"It's just an ordinary room," he commented. "I thought maybe they'd have it in the Auditorium, so that everybody could come. All the Old go to Ceremonies of Release. But I suppose that when it's just a newborn, they don't-"_

Arya read quickly, she, unlike many of her classmates, didn't understand shit about what was happening.

_Obediently Jonas concentrated on the screen, waiting for what would happen next. He was especially curious about the ceremony part._

_His father turned and opened the cupboard. He took out a syringe and a small bottle. Very carefully he inserted the needle into the bottle and began to fill the syringe with a clear liquid._

_Jonas winced sympathetically. He had forgotten that newchildren had to get shots. He hated shots himself, though he knew that they were necessary._

_To his surprise, his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the top of newchild's forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed. The newborn squirmed, and wailed faintly._

_"Why's he-" _

_"Shhh," The Giver said sharply._

_His father was talking, and Jonas realized that he was hearing the answer to the question he had started to ask. Still in the special voice, his father was saying, "I know, I know. It hurts, little guy. But I have to use a vein, and the veins in your arms are still too teeny- weeny."_

_He pushed the plunger very slowly, injecting the liquid into the scalp vein until the syringe was empty._

_"All done. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jonas heard his father say cheerfully. He turned aside and dropped the syringe into a waste receptacle._

_Now he cleans him up and makes him comfy, Jonas said to himself, aware that The Giver didn't want to talk during the little ceremony._

_As he continued to watch, the newchild, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. He head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still._

_With an odd, shocked feeling, Jonas recognized the gestures and posture and expression. They were familiar. He had seen them before. But he couldn't remember where._

_Jonas stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. The little twin lay motionless. His father was putting things away. Folding the blanket. Closing the cupboard._

_Once again, as he had on the playing field, he felt the choking sensation. Once again he saw the face of the light-haired, bloodied soldier as life left his eyes. The memory came back._

Arya slammed the book shut. They killed it. What kind of fuck-up kills a baby? Even if it's in a book... Arya began to sweat cold, she remembered when Rhaego died, but it hadn't been like that. It was a car crash, with blood and twisted steel and fire. In the book, it was strictly business, and no-one but Jonas blinked an eye. Her heart began to hammer brutally against her rib-cage, she didn't feel like crying, she just felt sick and like the air was getting thick and hard to breathe, Dany looked at her quizzically, with an almost concerned look in her faraway purple eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, I'm fine."

"I never liked the Giver, it was too trippy, and my life is already trippy so I didn't need any of that BS. How far in are you?"

"When Jonas gets the memory of snow." she lied, she didn't know why she lied, Dany told her if she ever wanted to talk about anything she was more than welcome, she just couldn't bring herself to say out loud that a baby had died. Not in front of Dany, anyway.

"Wait until the chapter with the elephant, that one scarred me for life. You should ask your teacher to read something good, like The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird. You'd like those, especially The Outsiders."

"I already read The Outsiders."

"Yeah, I read it early too. Are you done?" Dany pointed to Arya's empty plate, she nodded, Dany brought the dishes into the kitchen area. "The books get better in high school, where are you going next year?"

"Rosedale, the Arts school."

"Never heard of it, just don't get into any hard drugs, weed is fine but not too much of it, better weed than normal cigarettes, and don't get too wasted at parties."

"I don't really like drinking anyway. Doesn't do much for me."

"It's good when you're desperate." Dany pushed back her long white hair with one hand, "If your life is good, then you won't ever need it. Just don't do anything dumb in high school and you'll be fine. You're smart."

Arya wasn't sure what to say, she sure as hell wasn't going to keep reading. Maybe she'd tell Ms Harper she'd just read ahead in the book and ask to go to the bathroom when they discussed it in class. She felt sick just thinking about it and kept remembering the smell of disinfectant in the hospital and whenever she closed her eyes she saw Rhaego smiling and petting Ghost the day before he died. Dany had always wanted to keep him away from the dog but Drogo rebuked her, saying he'd spent the first three years of his life in a stable with a bunch of horses and Rhaego was perfectly fine. She remembered the day she'd ganked a forkful of baby food because it tasted like marshmallows, it probably was, and nobody really cared because Rhaego saw her stealing the forkful and started to laugh his ass off. She remembered when he was born. And remembered the day he died, and remembered being at school and getting called to the office because Sansa was picking her up to go to the hospital. She felt like screaming, or crying, or dying. Instead she shoved the book across the table and wound her fingers together, digging her nails into her palms. She felt sick to her stomach, she stood up and headed towards the washroom. Kneeling in front of the toilet, she stuck her finger down her throat and retched violently, puking up the frozen pizza and Sprite she'd just had, flushing her dinner, she leaned back against the tile wall.

That's when she spotted Dany's razor blade.


	13. Sansa V and Theon IV

**Red Leaves and Polaroids**

Sansa tried to be quiet about unlocking the door. Jon was falling asleep standing up and she knew she was almost there herself. It was one-forty in the morning. Sansa was angry and slightly drunk, Jon was just exhausted after Aunt Lysa had given him a lecture in the middle of the restaurant about why it's rude to text at the dinner table.

Dany and Asha were dead asleep in their respective areas. They were the only ones there except for Ghost, who was playing with one of Theon's shoes. Sansa knew Theon was probably at Kyra's, being chewed out by Eroeh was her guess, she didn't know where Arya could be.

She put on one of her mom's old t-shirts and slid into bed next to Dany, who still smelled like whatever alcoholic beverage she had been drinking.

"Nggg, what the fuck..." Dany whispered sleepily, rubbing her eyes and pushing tangled white hair out of her eyes,

"Aunt Lysa kept us late. Is Arya at a sleepover or something?"

"No. She was in the bathroom when I went to bed. I should've checked the expiration date on that fucking pizza."

"She probably fell asleep in the bathtub again. Dumb little bitch."

"I doubt it, I went to bed right after dinner." Dany sat up, suddenly awake, "Wait a minute." she stood up, shoving the blankets aside and running across the apartment, her bare feet barely audible, she opened the door and yellow light spilled onto the hardwood floor.

Dany screamed.

...

Sansa fell asleep on Asha's shoulder in the waiting room of the hospital. Jon was yelling at Aunt Lysa over the phone and Dany was sobbing into Theon's shirt. Theon himself looked wasted and terrified, Sansa was shivering even though she wasn't cold.

A sweet-looking nurse came out of the room they had taken Arya into, she had curly black hair and tan skin. Looking at her made Sansa feel less terrified, even though this woman probably knew the name and location of every lethal chemical in the building.

"Ms Stark?"

"That's me." said Sansa, "What's happening?"

"You're lucky to have found your sister when you did, before she could bleed out completely. She severed her ulnar artery, but that's fixable. We're going to keep her for about a week."

"Why? Why a week?"

"Whenever someone attempts suicide we want to make sure they're stable. I'm going to assume your sister was in a great deal of distress."

"She was fine, she looked really happy when I saw her last."

"That's probably what she wanted you to think, or maybe something triggered her at a point between when you saw her last and the initial attempt, either way, we'll find that out."

"Can I see her?" Sansa whispered.

"Of course you can." the nurse said softly, turning on the heel of her white shoe and walking into the room where Arya was, Sansa followed, she was almost certain she was the only one going, but when she glanced out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jon following from a safe distance.

Arya was laying in a bed in the center of the room, her skin was so white it seemed to bleed into the sheets. Her short brown hair formed a dark halo on the white pillow and her arms were covered by bloody bandages.

_Please, God, please let Dany not come in here..._ Sansa prayed, _It's too soon._

"Can she wake up now?"

"Just let her sleep." said the nurse, "She'll probably be awake in a few minutes, if you need me, press the call button and ask for Elia." she left the room.

"We're going to lose the boys over this."

"Really, Sansa?" Jon barked, "Is that all you can ever think about? Arya could have died, and all you can talk about are two boys who are perfectly safe."

"I'M SORRY, JON, I'M SORRY FOR WANTING TO FEEL LIKE A REAL FAMILY."

Jon sat on the edge of Arya's bed and put his head in his hands. Sansa bit back a fresh wave of tears.

Theon appeared in the doorway. He looked as pale as Arya and slightly sick,

"Oh God..." he choked out,

"She's doing well." said Sansa, "Just take Dany home, I don't need two people going over the edge anytime soon."

"Sansa, I-"

"JUST GO, THEON, JUST GO, PLEASE."

Theon inhaled deeply and walked slowly down the hall, Asha materialized in her brother's place.

"So do they know what happened?"

"No. They think she was triggered."

"Maybe she was thinking about your parents, or your brother. I used to get sad about my brothers. Maybe Dany said something ridiculous, she has no fucking filter-"

"Don't make this her fault. It's not, she wouldn't do anything to Arya."

At the mention of her name, Arya started to wake up, she sat up quickly. Sansa threw her arms around her sister, who shoved her off.

"Arya, my God, why would you-"

"Shut the fuck up." Arya snapped. "Jesus, calm down, I didn't die."

"You could have." said Sansa, shocked, Arya glared icily around the room and leaned back on her copious hospital pillows, arms folded defiantly.

"Shut the fuck up." said Arya, her tone harsh, "just shut up."

**Theon**

Dany's clouded purple eyes stared blankly into traffic through the rain. Four in the morning. How was she still awake? How was he still awake after what Kyra had put him through? Dany's nails dug into the leather seat of Theon's Ford Focus, his palms were sweaty on the steering wheel, the both of them looked like shit.

Kyra had taken him back to her dorm, stripped off her clothes and, well, the rest was almost blurry in Theon's memory. He knew they'd had sex, he knew he had been responsible and used protection and he knew he had liked it, as much as he hated to admit it, he'd liked it.

He remembered when Kyra's face kept shifting into Dany's and he'd almost yelled out the wrong name, and how he was just about to fall asleep when Sansa called him saying she was on her way to the hospital. Arya had always been the rock of their sad excuse for a family, she'd always been so stable, the voice of reason and moral support who always had a constructive answer, now she was laying in a hospital with open wrists and a wish to die.

The autumn rain continued to hammer down relentlessly. Drilling the windshield and streaming down the windows in thick rivulets, Theon turned the heat on as he noticed Dany was shivering. He turned a corner onto a sidestreet out of the thick traffic.

"This rain is nuts." he said nervously, "It rains so much in October." _Damn it, Greyjoy,_ he thought to himself,_ You fucking tool. _Dany glanced at him.

"Yeah, I guess. How was your job interview?"

"Great." Theon lied. "I think I may really have a shot at this one. I mean, I like working at Starbucks but, come on, it doesn't exactly pay the way I'd like it to."

"What were you even being interviewed for?"

"...Dentist's assistant." Theon lied again, saying the first job he could think of.

"That sounds pretty good."

Theon saw tears settling in her mascara. He reached over and gently touched her hand, she flinched, "Arya's going to be fine, she's doing incredibly well right now. We all need to be strong for her."

"That's what you told me to do when Drogo was dying."

"It's not like that this time-"

"Jesus FUCKING CHRIST." Dany snapped, turning her head sharply to glare out the window, Theon didn't know whether to feel terrified or exasperated. "Stop fucking speeding, we're going to crash and burn."


End file.
